The Vampire Diaries: Friend-Slash-Enemy (PHOTO RECAP)

At the beginning of high school I wore cargo pants and listened to 311. We've all gotten off to a bad start in some way or another. By now most people are well aware of the quirks 'n shortcomings of The Vampire Diaries' earliest days, but only recently has the show really begun to really OWN it. And you know what? At this point The Vampire Diaries has earned the right to be a little masochistic about its past. During this week's episode titled "1912," I counted at least three things that seemed to intentionally hearken back to the (not great, very different) pilot: A raven preceded Damon's entrance; an Uncle Zach appeared; and most hilarious of all, an actual VAMPIRE DIARY voiceover. And none of these things annoyed me like they did in the beginning. I didn't even mind the flashbacks! That's what a season jam-packed with Originals and Rippers and hybrids and heartaches buys you: Benefit of the doubt.

Speaking of flashbacks, during "1912" it occurred to me just how difficult the writers' jobs will become now that they're sewing up so much of the timeline. Sure, it's easy to say, "Oh, let's do an episode in 1912," but then they have to keep in mind the brothers' various emotional arcs. In this case we dropped in on the Salvatores a good fifty years after they'd turned and they hadn't really spoken to each other that whole time? And neither were evil yet? Even though the last time they'd seen each other Damon had sworn he'd spend the rest of eternity making Stefan's life a living hell? I don't know. But I'm guessing the writers' room has some kind chart like this to keep track of who's evil when:

See what I'm saying? No idea how they'll keep these flashbacks going while still having the Timeline-O-Assholery make any sense. Anyway, let's just get into this episode because it was both uneventful AND shocking!

It all began in Mystic Falls in—the year escapes me—where some guy named Zachariah Salvatore emerged onto the street with some guy named Sheriff Forbes. It wasn't clear what they were doing up so late, but it was pretty clear SOMEONE was about to die.

And Zach Salvatore got straight-up STABBED. But it was also a slightly hilarious stabbing in that he essentially walked into a knife. Oh well. I guess this was in a time before people learned to not walk into knives. Different times.

Meanwhile in present day, Mystic Falls' two most powerful women (LOL) were having a VERY heated discussion about just who Sheriff Forbes had arrested in the slasher case. Except the Sheriff didn't want to tell her.

But shock of all shocks, she had NOT arrested Meredith, she had arrested Alaric! Oh, and he'd survived a gunshot because she'd given him vampire blood. You know, doctor stuff. Anyway, pretty soon Alaric was yelling for his life and Damon of all people was trying to help him.

Unfortunately for Alaric, Sheriff Forbes had apparently decided to have a go at this whole "competence" thing she'd been hearing a lot about lately and decided she wouldn't let him out until she'd "investigated" his claims. On the plus side, the jail seemed to be made of styrofoam and spray paint, so he could probably have busted out if he felt like it.

Meanwhile Mystic Falls High School's quarterback was having a hard time keeping up with his jogging partner, a frail loner with a slight smoker's rasp.

When he demanded to know why she was running from her demons (LOL, Matt), she talked about how Bonnie's mom had decided to turn into a vampire and Elena felt super guilty about her part in it. Then she found out about Alaric.

After a tense yet sassy confrontation with Damon at City Hall/Sheriff's Station/The Jail/Blacklight Mini-Golf Course, they both parted ways knowing each of them would have to bust out their own schemes in order to help Alaric.

Then Damon returned to the Salvatore mansion, made a ton of fun of Stefan for writing in his journal, and then proceeded to paw through all of Stefan's old diaries to find the one from 1912.

Reason being: That's the last time there had been a slasher in Mystic Falls. Really? That was the last time? No offense, show, but I doubt that. Anyway, I love that having a "good memory" is not one of vampires' super powers. They have to go look stuff up just like us.

And through Stefan's diary we fell through a portal to another time!

Suddenly everything was sepia-toned and Stefan was attending his Uncle Zach's funeral.

He immediately had a run-in with some comely lasses from the Lockwood and Gilbert families and they had all the scoops on Zachariah's murder.

And then this happened:

Haha but no fog! I guess producers are saving that particular bit of hilarity for a future episode?

See, unless I'm mistaken, the last time on the timeline that we'd seen Stefan and Damon together was shortly after Stefan made Damon complete his transition and Damon swore he'd ruin Stefan's life. Right? So then Damon hadn't yet lost control, and I guess this was post-Lexi also. Look, I could probably look up the dates, but it doesn't really matter. Wigs are wigs. All that matters is the present day, and especially anything to do with this lady:

Hey Rebekah! Rebekah was sort of the best in this episode. It started off with her taking a personal meeting with the mayor to figure out where that second White Oak is (it's probably a nice side table by now), but then she became swept up in the Salvatores' beez.

I LOVED this little beat:

I don't know, I just like this matchup so much. There's something about Rebekah being this essentially omnipotent being and she still has to be polite to the Mayor and take a bunch of sass from Damon.

But Damon was right in this scene: The lady DID protest too much. Sparks, you guys.

Anyway, their conversation about the Mystic Falls slasher led Stefan to remind Damon that there had been another vampire in Mystic Falls circa 1912, and she was a redheaded lady with a fondness for walloping male models.

Meet Sage. She was basically Damon's Lexi.

Meanwhile in modern times, Elena was waiting in the parking lot for Meredith to pull up, which is always the best thing to do when you're about to accuse someone of being crazy.

Even though TO US it seemed incriminating that Meredith was harboring stolen evidence in her kitchen and firing guns at her boo at point blank range, she quickly turned the tables on everyone by assassinating Alaric's character all kinds. Apparently her main hobby is background checking because she busted out all these facts we didn't know: He'd been arrested a ton for fighting and Isobel had even once filed a restraining order against him. But anyway, the best was when Elena attempted to claim that Alaric wasn't a killer because Elena could just tell he wasn't. Then Meredith played her trump card:

Because YUP. Meredith went there. As everybody should. Forever. Sorry, Elena, but your romantic history will forever call into question your credibility when it comes to your inconsistent disapproval of murder.

Because Meredith is a member of a Founding Family, it meant that her closet DEFINITELY had a removable panel with a secret compartment. And that compartment definitely had incriminating evidence... Which would now never be allowed into evidence in any reputable court of law.

But then whoops! She came home! And by home, I mean the two green walls that a very exhausted crew stapled together that morning. (The all-green motif definitely doesn't do Meredith's sanity any favors.)

As Meredith walked around putting on more leather garments, Matt and Elena enjoyed some very intense quality time in the closet.

And then the front door opened and closed.

But WHOOPS!

Very crafty, Meredith.

Meanwhile at Mystic Grill, Damon and Stefan tried to lose Rebekah by crossing to the other side of the bar, but it didn't work.

Stefan's main thing this episode was that he had decided to quit human blood cold turkey. Although, it might've been ALL blood since it wasn't specified. He was definitely on edge and it meant he was REALLY irritable. Like even more than usual. I enjoyed this bit where Damon and Rebekah read passages of Stefan's diary out loud to prove how uptight he was back in the day.

Anyway, that was when Sage had decided she needed to tutor Damon in the fine art of being a vampire. He'd apparently spent 50 years moping about Katherine and hadn't really gotten better at it.

Sage's biggest tip had to do with preying upon buttoned-down women because they secretly want it more? Because they fight harder against it. Or something. I don't know, it's complicated.

But yeah, as you can see she was like the anti-Lexi in that she brought out Damon's bad boy side a little more.

Meanwhile down at the station, a certain offshoot of the #1 Teen Detective Agency was in a whole heap of trouble!

It was true that they'd directly interfered into a multiple homicide investigation. But why was Sheriff Forbes the only investigator? And if secrecy was so important, why did she show up to Alaric's front door with a murder weapon immediately after finding the first body? I can't answer that, okay. Relax with all these questions already! You're stressin' me out! BRB gonna go listen to some 311 to chill out a bit.

Speaking of unchill, Stefan was NOT happy about all of Damon's attempts to get him to drink human blood again.

So Damon turned to one of his best skill sets:

Bingo! And then for part 2 of Damon's plan... Encouraging Stefan to exercise moderation.

And it worked! Kind of. But then this happened:

Now I don't recall Stefan explicitly promising Elena he was quitting blood for her, but it's pretty clear he was doing it because he felt like he could earn her trust back or something. So I'm not sure why SHE was so shocked to see him feeding, but the point is that Stefan was suddenly suuuuper disappointed in himself.

In what might've been the best scene of the night, Elena and Matt sat down to enjoy a nice cup of coffee and a mellow indie rock track while Elena eloquently explained what she saw in Stefan in the first place. Poignantly enough, it had to do with the fact that he was immortal, unlike her dead parents.

Whew, good save, Matt! But the heartsick cat was already out of the heartsick bag, because we knew and Elena knew that Matt definitely still had feelings for her, his first crush. And there were hints that, who knows, maybe it's not impossible that she might reciprocate someday. I mean, look at her here:

She's definitely entertaining the notion. In my opinion if this show pursues this plotline it'll be a masterstroke. Where do you go after you've bounced between two occasionally unpleasant prongs on a love triangle? Find a third option! And it would make Klaus' offhand comment about how Elena should marry Matt and have kids just straight-up prescient. So yeah, I would not mind at all if Elena dug her tiny hands into a pile of mashed potatoes. Let's shake things up a bit!

Oh and then Alaric came home from jail.

Don't all high school teachers place their hands on the smalls of their female students' backs? Anyway, he'd been cleared by some kind of letter that Meredith had delivered to Sheriff Forbes claiming the time of death of one of the murder victims coincided with Alaric's alibi. Or whatever. It was not important as we'd soon find out.

Then Damon arrived at the Salvatore mansion and gave one of his patented non-apology apologies.

And then another flashback occurred, this time filling in exactly how Stefan became a ripper that one time. Wait, was it the first time? So this is pre-Lexi? Again, I am not about to Bing it. Anyway, it began with Damon paying forward Sage's advice to eat upper class women. So he feasted upon the Lockwood lady:

And then her head came off!

Eating someone's head off is definitely considered a faux pas in the vampire world, so a distraught Stefan got all mad at Damon and ran off into the woods.

Back in present day, Damon explained that he hadn't helped Stefan then because he didn't care to. But now he did care, and he wanted to help Stefan stay on this side of Ripperdom if it's the last thing he does. And in another episode highlight, Damon just laid his reason out there.

Awww! It was pretty nice seeing this tiny moment of brotherly love. It's definitely true that the brothers' relationship to each other is way more important than either of their relationships with Elena. So, yeah. Great scene.

Also, Damon played piano:

That's when Stefan conveniently discovered a ten-years-later confession which wrapped up the 1912 slasher plotline.

Except the murderer was a woman Damon believed he'd killed once: Jonathan Gilbert's granddaughter, the one we'd seen earlier at the graveyard.

This was intercut with Elena doing her best to read said Gilbert woman's journal:

This made me laugh because at first I thought it was the show's stylistic device of showing us what Elena sees when she tries to read. BUT it turned out it was just the mad scribblings of the Gilbert woman going insane. Oh, and would you care to know the reason she was going insane? Her ring of immortality!

And that's when Meredith arrived at Alaric's front door with some pretty compelling arguments for his insanity.

That's right: The Mystic Falls Slasher was ALARIC! The details were immediately ridiculous if you thought about it too hard (he only killed people who threatened Meredith? Why did she free him if she knew he was the killer? Why was she personally investigating this stuff in the first place? Why was he using the exact same M.O. as the Gilbert slasher? Did he have to be blackout drunk each time?) Still though, interesting twist! It calls into question Jeremy's safety for wearing an enchanted ring. And it once again proves that witches ruin everything.

Anyway, just to confirm:

This is what a killer looks like. A handsome woman in a chapeau roaming the streets getting stabby with folks. Is this what Alaric will become??

You guys, I liked this episode. Watched it thrice. Like most flashback episodes, not a ton happened in the long run, but it sure felt busy. And in retrospect I guess we all owe Meredith an apology. Plus congratulations to those of you who guessed Alaric was the killer. I definitely didn't guess right, but I suppose it just goes to show the futility with trying to predict where this show is going at any given time.

Bye!

QUESTIONS:

... Were you shocked the killer was Alaric?

... So wait, Sheriff Forbes didn't actually authenticate that letter like she said she would, did she?

Huh? What? I haven't seen this one yet, but...okay, so why'd Meredith shoot to kill Alaric and then save him with vampire blood? Yeah, yeah, I know, expecting logic from this show is a sure path to insanity. Oh well...guess I'll just watch as always and try to figure it out. Still hating Meredith, btw.

One of the things that bothered me about this episode was that Damon spent a thrid of hus vampire life being all waiting for Katherine and stuff then Sage comes by and is just like "yeah F that this is way more fun" and hes just like "k ur right" Also it had none of my favorite characters in it besides Rebekah. The story about Daddy Salvatore is just awful. So what their trying to tell us is that he raped a slave and them everyone was just like we accept the bastard child. First of all the child would take his mothers last name and become a slave like second. Second if the child was accepted, it would be very hush-hush that its was not his wife's child. From what I can tell Mommy Salvatore died, which brings us back to opition one. And Damon said he had the child during the civil war, so that would be at the most four years before Guisieppe was killed, who raised the child? If the child was to be the Salvatore heir then the mom would surely not be allowed to.

1. Shocked and disappionted. It would be nice if it was Jeremy so they would be able to bring him back. Alaric really has no piont anymore and is a bit of a filler character now. If they made one of the more central characters the slasher them it would make things more complex, but by chosing a character like Alaric, it does not matter much anymore what happens. However it will (if we get to see it) be intersting to see Caroline's reaction. Elena tends to take matters in stride and not react to harshly to them, but Caroline, well it was her Dad, if she is not upset the TVD is messing up another wonderful character.

2. Like most things at the Sheriff's office, the letter checking thing was probably broken. You know what, Meredith should probably become the new sheriff, she seems a whole lot better at investigating than Forbes is. After all when Damon asked the Sheriff to find stuff about Alaric in season one all she came up with was a few tickets, Meredith got arrests and restraining orders. Also Alaric techinally shouldn't be able to be a teacher if he actually had those charges (only if he was charged though so maybe none of them were ever proved). Despite that many people don't like Meredith, I do, she's proved herself to be very clever and smart (besides getting Alaric out of jail)

3. Maybe. So over the Salvatore/Elena love triangle but I would feel bad for Matt. However if it kept her away from Elijah and Damon (who are way better without her) then I would be glad to see the couple reunite.

4. She did not get enough screen time. I agree that she is the anti-Lexi but the reasons on way we should like Sage and why we liked Lexi are very different. Lexi was fun and brought out a side in Stefan that none of us were able to see before making her immeditly likeable. She was "good" which meant she had no problem fitting in with central characters of the show at the time. I also believe that if the producers and writers would have known her impact before the show aired then she would not be killed off. We were all expecting Sage to be like Lexi in the way that she was Damon's mentor and bring back season one Damon with all of his snarky remarks and "go-f-yourself" adittude. Sadly, I think most people forgot that this was also the Damon the compelled-raped Caroline and seemed determite to run MF into the ground. It was not the snarky Damon that Sage created but the monster Damon. She was intense and truly a bad person. Most people (me included) were excepting her to be snarky, scrastic, and fun. But how she turned out to be might actually be better suited for the show. Alot of people complained about her comments and her basically telling Damon to rape being vile. And it was. But that is what makes her Damon's Lexi, she is dark, intense, and vampiric to her very core. I would say that I look forward to seeing her in mordern MF but that is untrue. Because of the Finn pairing which seems at the very least an extremely terrible idea. And for those who really hate her I can assure you she probably will not make it pass season three.

Great recap, agree with your veiw on most things, the flashbacks do have a habit of messing things up royally. And they probably do have a chart just like that hangong up somewhere lol

It was stated that he had an affair with a maid, and that was all. That does not neccesarily mean the girl was a slave. Emily Bennett was a slave and she was a maid, but it does not have to be that way. Slaves could have been maids, but a maid did not have to be a slave. It's very possible she was just a woman willingly working for the Salvatores and getting paid for it. In that case, I don't even think the town would've known he was Guiseppe Salvatore's son and when he took the name, they just assumed he was some distant relative.

Rebekah was so great in this episode. She's quickly becoming the second awesomest character (why are they all blonde chicks?).

I felt like a total jackass during the Matt-Elena kitchen table business... making fun of her, as usual, for her love of a blood-sucking mass murderer, when she busted out with the whole "because he wouldn't die" bit. I was honestly floored, I'd just never saw that angle of the whole sexy vampire business. So simple and obvious, really, and the most logical thing Elena has ever said.

I mean, I still don't really get how you get past the mass-murdering thing, but yeah, I get where you're coming from, girl.

Didn't she die when Michael sucked her dry to go ahead and get killed by Klaus? I thought that's what happened... Or maybe by sucking her dry he just traded places with her? Maybe she's in the tomb for real this time.

@jools19 - Katherine was part of the whole Homecoming business, pretending to be Elena, remember? Then she convinced Stephan to get revenge on Klaus, but also told him she liked him better when he was nice. It was awesome. But what, did Steph just toss her out of the car after that?

@Montana_Katana Yeah that was it! Right after they killed Mikael, Stefan skipped town with Katherine and that's when they stole the caskets. lol I'm going back and rewatching this 3rd season again.. Now they I've seen the first few episodes again, you can totally see how they've been hinting toward Alaric going downhill and how they've hinted at a Matt/Elena rekindling.. Not that that is guaranteed, but it sure seems like it might happen. That would be nice, the triangle is annoying now cuz Elena sucks and I like the idea of Damon being with Rebekah haha

I also remember another episode ending on a cliffhanger of Kat waking up a chained Mikael in a crypt in some town (Charlotte?) and he fed on her and dropped her in a coffin, then it was end credits. I also remember seeing Mikael walking around in MF and at some bar w/ the Salvatore Bros and Katherine being there for the homecoming episode, but either they dropped the ball and didn't show us any transition between Mikael eating Kat to how they got to homecoming or I'm having memory lapses. I don't remember!

@mmmshuddup I don't know!?! I remember watching her and Stephen drive away last fall, and then the whole Stephen stealing the coffins/snickers thing went down, but I don't think(?) we've seen her since then? That whole homecoming-dance-at-Tyler's-house episode last fall is when Mikael got daggered with the one!only! white-ash dagger, right??

IDK, go ask CiaraGlynn or Bluemystique, they sometimes track this stuff better than I do.

Last we saw her (I think?) was when she was driving Stephan out of town at the end of the homecoming episode. She gave him a whole speech about weakness and feelings and needing him to be angry for whatever task she had for him to do next.

I was never certain if that "next task" was Steph stealing the coffins (ugh, remember those?) or if whatever task she assigned him is something that we've yet to see. Kinda hoping for the latter.

1) Not really really, but I thought he had been compelled or something. No this crazy storyline.

2) Oh Sheriff Forbes, you make me weep.

3) Even though I never liked MattElena as a couple, it would shake things up. Besides, wouldn't it be great if Elena just got to say F U to the Salvatore brothers? It would be a nice change, instead of pining over them. I must say, I was impressed by the conversations between Elena and Matt. I thought it was pretty great and scary that Elena admitted that Stefan was safe because he wouldn't die. I mean, that puts a lot of things in perspective.

I liked how they immediately went all detective-mode, gah! Loved it!

4) She was not interesting. Well, better luck next time.

I almost cracked up when they shifted to 1912, and everything became brown and slightly blurry. I guess 1864 is blueish and grey, while 1912 is brown. I'm so looking forward to other flashbacks now!

I did not particularly like this episode (except MattElena and DamonRebekah.. and Damon's sass, duh), but hey, at least TVD is back :) And you recaps too! Double awesomeness.

I enjoy every recap, but this one literally made me laugh hysterically. So funny! My only gripe with the episode is why Elena reacted the way she did when she saw Stefan (the vampire) drinking blood... especially since she lives in Mystic Falls and has seen her classmates routinely murdered, her brother behead someone on the porch and even stabbed her surrogate dad in the heart like 2 nights ago. But hey, it wouldn't be Thursday without Elena doing something that didn't quite make sense.

Did anyone else notice how incongruous this episode is with the timeline established in Stefan's Diaries? It's a bummer that they've gone through all the trouble to develop such a rich back story only to mess it up by +/- 20 years. The brothers not having seen each other for 30 years would have been equally as poignant, especially given the fact that is twice as old as half TVD's fan base and seems like 4eva.

this show is becoming such a bore. can't believe what the writers are doing to it, it was great season one and two (partly at least, can't remember what's two and three anymore) and then everything got fucked up. there's too many plots going on: the originals, esther, salvatore brothers, love triangle, alaric and mad girl, bonnie and her mom, caroline and taylor and clause, kathrine, the time jumping and so on.

they need to tie up some loose ends to get this show back to it's original glory or i sure as hell won't watch it any more.

started rewatching the season and i'm starting to change my mind (turns out that if you actually pay attention to the show while watching it's good, just didn't realise i hadn't payed attention until rewatching). how great would it have been if Stefan and Klause and Rebeccah went back to the way they were in the 20's?! Except the ripping part.

Eh, it was an okay episode. 1.) I was kind shocked that Alaric was the killer. Although at first I couldn't put 2 and 2 together (probably because I was watching it at 1 in the morning), but I thought that Jonathan Gilbert's granddaughter had transformed into Alaric. So I was thinking Alaric's really a chick? 2.) Sheriff Forbes, I'm surprised she's not dead yet. 3.) This guy is in too many love triangles. 4.) Sage was pretty boring. Can't wait till next week. Plus where is Katherine? and I miss Elijah.

Luv Alaric so was a bit disappointed that he's the killer. So many unexplained things ie why those particular victims, why stake them, etc. hope they will answer those questions and not just say that he's gone crazy! Still suspicious about Meredith, they haven't explained what she's doing in MF. Bad timing for announcement of Matt Davis' new show... :(

I luv how everyone sees the hug between Elena and Ric in a different light after the Paley Fest panel! Lol @ernestoriley tweets!

@Meftihe - Ha! Yeah, I watched the ending part of the episode twice for something else (Creepy Meredith), but even the second time around I was fixated on his (her?) Gilbert-ring. I think his fingers might have been splayed/spread out, though.

This episode had me from the first bell toll. But I have just soooo many questions. And they demand answers.

But first, your questions:

1) I was, because I never predict anything right. But I think it was done really well.

2) LOL

3) Go Matt Go! This will never end well for him, but I am over the ship wars and I would appreciate the break.

4) haha I think we can all agree Sage is shit boring, but the ship names are tremendous: so far there's Damage, Rage and Sinn. Pretty awesome, right? Okay nevermind.

Now my questions!

First off, and most importantly, had Damon been celibate for 50 years? ..yeah think about that.

Does Caroline know Alaric killed her daddy?

Is the town ever going to have a proper election for mayor or are they all so used to nepotism that nobody cares? Speaking of, I liked 1912's Sheriff Forbes a hell of a lot better than our current one. But If we are electing, I vote Matt for mayor. Imagine those pretty blue eyes on giant banners! I digress.

Oh Acholaric. Does this mean that possessed Alaric had an hour conversation with Meredith at 2am? WTF did they discuss, a hitlist?

Why does Stefan not bother locking up any of his diaries? Honestly they might as well be in the MF bookstore under bestseller. Is being a vampire so last season in this town that no one cares if all the gory details get out? Sheesh.

I'm super confused about how the Salvatore bloodline kept going until 2009's uncle Zach... Something about Daddy Salvatore knocking up maids? Don't suppose he slept with any "handmaidens" did he? And by that I mean SLAVES. That's right CW, some us can still say SLAVES. Imagine if there are black Salvatores out there! Perhaps the Bennett and Salvatore lines crossed paths? Thanks again TVD for flashing back to the south without even a passing mention of Slavery. I really, really appreciate it. *slips in pool of sarcasm*

Anwho, back to Alaric! What do you think of that backstory? Violence, arrests? Again, Elena displayed psychopathic tendencies by not giving an iota when Meredith dropped that bombshell. Leading to one of the greatest moments of the series, Elena finally getting TOLD: You date VAMPIRES. Nothing you think is valid, ever.

Having said that I'm actually pretty impressed that Elena defended her choices a bit? With the whole admitting the Vampire thing wasn't a deal breaker because of her parents dying. That was pretty cool of her. It also made me really worry because since then every single person she's loved has died. Every one. No wonder she's clinging to Alaric, at least he keeps coming back to life.

So this whole "brother" thing. In the books, it was Damon's way of dissociating himself from Stefan- he didn't even want to say his name, so he called him brother. I can't help but think of this everytime either of them says it. Is it a term of endearment or not? Either way, it's dead sexy.

Why is no one suspicious about Rebekahs sudden interest in trees? Do they think this is normal?

Where are Finn and Esther?! Kol and Elijah? Half this show? Is Klaus still lurking outside Carolines window waiting for her to come home?

Has someone bothered to call Jeremy and let him know his ring may have some interesting side effects?

oh and the ring: Are we all assuming it's because Alaric has died so many times that the rings side affects are taking hold, or is just the ring itself? Because Samantha Gilbert can't have been killed as often as Ric, so I don't think that's how the crazy came to be... I think being eaten by a Vampire in 1912 just made her lose her sh*t. I want to know who made her magic ring in the first place. Where there witches around? Aha! According to TVD, that means there were black people around! As for Ric, my theory is that every time he died, a little less of him came back, which left more room for the crazy in the ring to take hold?

I have so many more, but I've written an essay so I'll stop. If anyone can answer so much as one of these, I'd love it!

The town will only hold a proper election once their human population tops 12 people. Until then everyone's cool with just letting the mayor's widow run things. I have to say, if I were African-American I'd probably be REALLY annoyed by this show and its flashbacks. But I'm not African-American so I guess I don't know how they should feel. But come on, TVD. At the very least those racial scenarios would make for compelling storytelling. I would like Bonnie 200% more if she became enraged about what the Salvatore slave owners put her ancestors through. You know? I know The Vampire Diaries isn't Roots, but it's also just outright lying about how things used to be and I think that's pretty irresponsible if not a missed opportunity. Oh, back to your comments. A+ once again.

It's not something I personally am outraged about...but it's annoying because of how they skirt around the issue. I mean the entire premise of the show revolves around two brothers her were turned around the Civil War Era...and being descendents of one of the many power families of their townn (including the Bennetts) so it's annoying that in an effor to be PC I suppose they don't acknowledge it. Not acknowledging it makes it more offensive in some ways. I, like you, feel like in skirting past some of those issues they're missing out on some really rich storylines and a chance at making Bonnie interesting. I mean she could legitimately be a pain in the ass if they'd come right out with it and say that one of the reasons she's so angry all the time is because of the racial tones.

I think we all agree Bonnie could be so much better in so many ways... being the voice of our discontent is yet another example. You brought up an aspect I hadn't considered... that the issues are being skirted to be PC. If so, I think that severely underestimates the audience. I think this comments section alone has proven repeatedly that TVD fans can also be intelligent, articulate and disturbingly observant. We don't need sugar coating. This may sound like I'm pissed, but it's more an intensely irritating, itch you can't scratch sort of feeling. I can let it ruin the experience for me or I can suck it up. Most days I choose the latter. But this has been a great soap box.

Thanks for answering a question! I'm African Australian so I'm about 50% annoyed with this show. I think the flashbacks are pretty annoying regardless of nationality, TBH. Oh and comparing TVD and roots had me rolling. That'd be the year. Do you think the writers think of these things at all? I don't know which alarms me more- that they honestly haven't considered the racial implications or that they know and don't care.

And I love that you graded me on my comments. Makes me want to aim for extra credit next time. I think that was my longest comment outside of tumblr, can't believe anyone even read it. Thanks guys!

No. No, I don't. And it's getting disturbing how politically/socially/sociologically unaware they are. I think most of the writers are Caucasian, which is beside the point. But if (sorry to re-open an old rant guys) a group of writers who have been publicly outspoken about their support/involvement with individuals who are LGBT can go and f*ck up the Bill-thing so terribly. Then we can't hope for/expect anything good to come from them regarding racial issues. When they have never as a group (to my knowledge anyway) had any statement/support/involvement with minorities or persons of differing racial heritage. And THAT is a really sad commentary on the writers as a group and society as a whole.

I didn't realize is was in such a ranty mood when I opened my laptop. I truly hope my comments are not offensive to y'all.

Did I never respond to this? Sorry, I agree with everything you said so I just nodded, liked and moved on. I'm giving them til the finale to attempt to rectify this before I became a pain in the writers' asses.

I tend to write long comments myself so I feel compelled (pun intended) to read other long ones. It's the courteous thing to do.

It's rather odd, because I think the writers consciously avoid some of the racial implications (like how they avoid referring to slavery and substitute "slave" for words like "handmaid"). I think in that case they avoid it to not stir the pot, or shift the focus, or delve deeper into something that could potentially be controversial. On the other hand..I honestly don't think they're aware of other racial implications like 97% of the witches being black and witches in general being subservient entitites or "slaves" to other supernatural beings. They're often exploited. I don't think the writers are conscious of the undertones in that. The negative connotations that witches carry in relation to race.

@Montana- LOL I love where your mind went. Particularly as you were agreeing with me, in your own way :D

@bluemystique- I agree completely. I too had envisioned this fantastic backstory of African witches and black magic entwined with all the vampire folklore. I thought the casting and portrayal of Ayanna was a great step in that direction. Witches in present day MF however, are a slap in the face of history, both fictional and real. I can only hope that they will give the witches their due in future episodes, although at this point the lapse is so big and has gone for so long it would have to be one hell of a storyline, not just an episode which might have sufficed earlier. I want this show to go on for many more seasons, I just don't know how much longer I can go without letting all this effect my viewing experience. It's SUCH a shame. And I would be slightly mollified if cast/crew address this in any public forum, but I will not resort to the social media abuse some fans partake in, particularly recently. Step it up interviewers! No more asking about ship wars. Let's get to the nitty gritty instead.

@MefithePhoen I heard before that they hadn't planned ahead a lot of their writing. Who knows? I find myself always trying to give them the benefit of the doubt...but maybe you're right. Making witches predominately black wasn't really the issue...I thought it was kind of cool initially and that there may have been some interesting reason behind it that would come up down the line. Making witches subservient beings being used, abused, and killed off is where it became problematic. They spent a great deal of time reinforcing that witches are the balancers of the universe etc. But so far all we've seen is witches being held captive, killed, channeled for their power, manipulated, and that's just the present storylines...in the past they were all but glorified slaves. I think in making that connection where witches have been equated to slave...is where they have a problem.Maybe there is a chance that it's something that will be explained down the road? I don't know. It is something that I've yet to hear questioned or brought up to the cast and crew. I'd love to hear their thoughts on it...and maybe confirm whether or not they were aware.

@Montana to clarify...I myself think they consciously knew what they were doing as far as making all the witches black. I think at the time it was just this really cool thing to have going on...I personally felt like they had plans on a historical aspect of it...like connecting witchcraft to some other forms of witchcraft/voodoo/magic that was common and still is common in some parts of Africa. I thought initially that was the angle they were working. I think they were conscious in making the witches black...but they were unconscious in the implications of witches being the equivalent of slaves. I think they may have been more aware of in recently since they did end up making that one witch working for Isobel was it? a white male, and obviously Esther is a white female...where they again messed u pthough was in how Esther used the Bennett withces and put them back into this subsevient role. Also they had a couple of black and one hispanic vampire that came out of the tomb. It's becase of those that I again wonder if all of it is deliberate or intentional on their part. No worries about not being historically knowledgable in regards to other countries. Most countries tend to only focus on their country's history and only on other countries if it has some relation to their own country's history. It's the way it is in America as well. And yes, slavery wasn't something that originated in the states...it wasn't even a race thing as much as it was a class thing initially. Slavery was also found in parts of Europe,in Africa...in fact little fact, there were some Africans who actually sold their own people (mostly enemies of rival tribes etc) to slave traders and that's how slaves ended up in the states. And of course many of the islands had slavery as well. And no worries again..it's an interesting topic that leads to interesting discussions! No apologies necessary! : )

@MeftihePhoen I think the fact that (excepting Abbey) all the vampires have been white folk is only hurting the situation. I could sorta (only, sorta) let the writers slide on all witches being black or give them the benefit of the doubt that maybe they didn't notice or that's who they had to pick from at casting session, or something. EXCEPT!! There is no way ALL OF THEM could be that clueless about the obvious comparisons between black witches working for white vampires and slavery in the American South. It's 2012 for crying out loud and Racism and discrimination are still, unfortunately, a thing in some places, there are people still dealing with this crap.

(Side note, I only know of slavery in the States, if it happened in other countries.....somehow this escaped my education? Now I feel a little bad for not knowing what was going on in the world. I mean these are actual living, breathing, fricking people we're talking about here!) *ends rant*

Okay, I think at the start of this post I just wanted to agree with you girl, but it kinda took on a life of its own, sorry about that.

haha good lesson on comment ettiquette! Long comments make for fun subway reading anyway.

On second thought, I've decided it would be more alarming if, as you say, they honestly don't see that they've made all their witches black and subservient to vampires. This show has some intricately woven plots and storylines that suggest that a hell of a lot of thought and effort are put into them. There's just no way they could have missed this... God I just want someone in the show to acknowledge this! What I wouldn't give to be a T.V interviewer right now...

Whoa! Now that would be some class act writing right there...if Daddy Salvatore did in fact bang a slave (in tvd world I believe it's witch) and the Bennetts and the Salvatores share a bloodline. That would be fantastical and I'm game for any and every plausible and implausible method used to make Bonnie a more interesting character. Kat Graham (and the majority of the audience) deseves that.

And there were black people around. It was 1912...and if you look closely there were black males driving the carriages carting around all the founding members to the funeral. I know...yay right?!

Poor Jeremy...if they called to tell him, I'm willing to bet he wouldn't know what they were talking about.

Also, not to offend anyone, but the merging of bloodlines could explain the skin tone of the witches/Bennetts. Is that offensive? IDK, feel free to school me if it is.

I'd be interested to hear that call to Jeremy, though I doubt we will. Maybe Matt will just casually mention that it happened on his next jog with Elena. That's how all Bonnie's storylines are being played out lately.

I think they were just trying to explain how this Zach and season 1's uncle Zach could even exist, and ssn 1's was awfully pale to be a descendant of a umm witch. Thus, I think we are to suppose that the Salvatore maids at the time of the Civil War were white. Not sure how likely that is.

Inbreeding would explain the current level of idiocy amongst the lot of them. LOL!

As far as other Salvatores I just meant that...since they found a way to explain their Uncle Zack...apparently being a descendent of an illegitimate love child of their fathers...then that love child had other salvatores to get to Zack.

What other Salvatores? Were there other Salvatores in the flashbacks? I only remember mom, dad, and the wonder twins. Or did you mean, like if S/D had cousins who had descendants? I think I just confused myself with that.

Also, I think (?) that we've only ever seen one nuclear unit of each Founding Family per generation. How does a town that small do that? Now I'm a little concerned that Mystic Falls has some problems with inbreeding. Not good.

Seriously, I love that such an amazingly silly and hilarious recap has spawned so many articulate and intelligent comments. Underneath the teen hotness this show is (or at least has potential to be) quite an interesting social satire.

"of a umm witch" LOL. We've given up on dissociating the word witch from black on this show haven't we? And you're right about Zach, assuming he was actually a blood relation himself and not an adopted Salvatore like Elena was to the Gilberts. And does anyone know the odds of having a white maid in the south in 1912?

So, maybe it's not JUST the ring. Maybe the problem is: Gilbert-ring + ingesting vamp blood = psychopath. Most likely, Samantha didn't die and resurrect as many times as Alcoholaric. But if she got bit and then the biter fed her vamp blood so she'd heal and not become a corpse/evidence, that might be plausible? Maybe a witch-made ring designed to protect from vampires +/or supernatural deaths has contraindications for mixing with vamp blood? IDK. This still doesn't explain why, once the crazy switch is flipped, the ring wearing psycho starts targeting the founder's council and no one else.

Ooh I like this point about a witch-made ring getting wonky when mixed with vamp blood. It feeds into this whole "balance"/"servants of nature" bs the witches revert to when the going gets too evil. I'm the same as you, still really confused about how it all works... I'm going to need a second look at Samantha's psycho journal. As for targeting founder's council members, I think that would be an echo of Samantha's will? Perhaps this is her vengeance for being eaten by a Salvatore? But wait the killings began before both Salvatores were back in town so I'm back to square one... dammit.

i must say that i am a bit disappointed about this episode...we left off with rebekah and klaus finding out that there is a weapon that could kill them somewhere there but in this episode we see just rebekah trying to research the trees of mystic falls...i would have expected that klaus would do smtg as well... i wonder how long it will take damon to figure out rebekah's sudden interest for trees....

then is the alaric thing...if alaric was the killer why did meredith had all those files and weapons and stuff? that is the town where everybody is a detective...and how weird is that all the forbes were sheriff in mystic falls - is a job passed through generations? is the same with the lockwood as well? and what were the gilberts...except beeing crazy....

Yeah, that does gross me out how the founding families have always been in charge. What's weird is that both the mayor and the sheriff MARRIED into their roles. Neither of them are actual founding family by blood.

This review cracked me up. Highlights were the Stefan/Damon evilness graph, the Damon/Rebecca gazes (which were truly awesome), & Alaric's alcoholism. I really did find the Elena/Alaric hug to be prolonged and inappropriate. I also snickered when Rebecca and Damon were reading Stefan's whiny journal. I agree that this series is really picking up this season. The captions are hilarious, as always. Can't wait for moar.

Were you shocked the killer was Alaric? Yes, very much so. I am sad about Jeremy, he's gonna go crazy, too. I think Alaric will be written off the show. :-( Also, didn't Klaus "possess" Alaric at one point? That's gotta be bad for the sanity . . . .

... So wait, Sheriff Forbes didn't actually authenticate that letter like she said she would, did she? LOL. I wondered about that. Since Meredith came right and SAID she forged it. Not Liz' best moment!

... Is Matt about to judo chop the central love triangle to pieces? I think so! And Klaus will steal one of the babies to be his blood factory! Spin off . . . . .

... Do you think Sage zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz I think they didn't take enough time with her. She is a good actress, especially for villains and it would have been great to see a fleshed out character.

Thank you, Price, this is great as usual. I laughed HARD at "Deal w/it"! :-) You make this show even BETTER.LESS

-I like your definition of Sage as the anti-Lexi. Fantastic portrayal, and I think she could be really neat for this. I also like how she's at least 900 years old, so she's one of the earliest non-Original vampires.

As for the timelines, it works out, Stefan would go off the wagon occasionally and Lexi would come back and straighten him out, and he was supposed to be off the wagon for the '20s so he and Rebekah could hang. As for Damon, I'm glad that they mentioned how obsessed he was with Katherine. I liked this episode, and even think that this could be an interesting development with the rings. Love to see where we go from here.

Any chance that the stylized depiction of Crazy-Gilbert's journal is actually layered writing? Like maybe there's writing, and different writing or symbols on top of it? Symbols like in the Lockwood cave or Bennet Grimoire or something. Anyone else think this? No?

Also, I was super confused during the flashbacks because Miss Lockwood (Marietta?) and Samantha Gilbert were played by two actresses of similar height and features, dressed nearly identical (down to the cameo neck-brooches!), and we know nothing of their personalities or any basic way to differentiate them. My brain couldn't tell them apart, so I didn't really know which one Stefan ripper-ed to pieces when I was watching it.

I love that theory as well. I mean crazy for them back then somehow seems like someone who is enlightened by our standards in the TVD world. Maybe Samantha wasn't crazy...maybe she was just privvy to some things that the others weren't. Ohhh maybe he's the link the white ash tree.

It was a good episode,,, and for once ,,, the actress that plays Meredith,, is not a psycho (or is she?) She 's Spencer's psycho sister who probably killed Alison, in PLL and she was the crazy and psycho nanny Carrie in the legendary season 6 of One Tree Hill

1) ... I was, but then in this episode, Elena was so concerned to prove his inocence that I thought... What if Alaric actually is the killer? I'm worried that this plot will Kill Alaric off. I love too much Damon/Alaric bromance.

2) I am sure she didn't, LOL. Too busy being off screen.

3) Well there were some scenes there, but maybe they are preparing us for Season 4 or whatever. It would make sense that Klaus prediction becomes real. I think that we will get some Damon/Elena before Matt.

4) I think Sage will be a interesting character! Sage and Rebekah around Damon would distant him from Elena, and I NEED this, not more Damon who jumps when Elena says jump. And I am VERY curious about Finn and Sage history. I am intrigued by Finn's background.

That would be so disturbing I wouldn't be able to take my eyes away. Is Elena a Doppleganger Siren Succubus? she swallowed the spanish fly...her pheremones shoot off cupid arrows... I don' tknow, she has a way of having sexy vibes with every male...and some female characters that cross her path.

No, I didn't. I had no freaking idea. But I bet some of you read that top line and were like: "What a pompous ass!" And you'd be spot on if I didn't write it for facetious purposes. I'm not a huge fan of the "I called it". Maybe that's because most of my predictions are wrong, but I like to believe it's a more principled stand. I actually thought it could have been Jeremy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I suck at predictions.

But who could have called that the reason for Alaric's murderous dalliances would be an expired immortality ring? F'ing Witches! You'd think they could have written a users manual for enchanted rings. Or at the very least a 19th Century post-it along the lines of: "Wearer goes all Michael Myers after 3 to 5 resurrections". That's just good manners.

- Shuffling Bonnie off to the side is something I've gotten used to (and have ceased to really care about), but this scarily recurring theme of Caroline being left out is not cool TVD writers!

- I hadn't seen Cassidy Freeman in anything since Smallville. I'm glad to see her back on my TV screen.

- Mashed potatoes are filling and high in carbohydrates, but they're always going to be a side dish.

I was shocked by the idea that Alaric might be the killer. But I didn't buy it completely to be honest. Even though Meredith has been the obvious suspect, it could still be her. TVD fooled us once by pointing in her direction and then reaveling that Alaric maybe is the killer. But what if Meredith actually framed him? After all, we don't know that the Gilbert journal found in her closet is real.

I take this opportunity to defend Elena. She is not boring as a character, but so tragic. Her whole family (besides Jeremy) is dead, and she's been hunted by a doppelganger/evil hybrid/etc.. Cut her som slack.

Great recap as always Price, but I want to stress upon something that really irked me about Elena in this episode. She pointed out to Damon for the umpteenth time that if he doesn't play nice he's going to end up alone. While I know I shouldn't take her very seriously, what really bothered me was how completely untrue her statement was. Even if Elena shuns him (oh tragedy!) and Stefan leaves him, Damon still has meaningful relationships, friendships with more people in Town than, say, Stefan. Alaric's his best friend. He's close to Sheriff Forbes. He's chummy with the mayor and he's on good terms with a few Originals, sure he's not best friends with Elijah and Rebekah but his interactions with them have this potential to be more.

On the other hand, if you look at Stefan, no such great relationships come to mind. Sure all these women seem to find him interesting enough to fall for him (its some voodoo I swear) but apart from that, he doesn't have any lasting relationships with anyone. So its more likely that Stefan's the one that's bound to end up alone.

Excellent point. Damon has absolutely no trouble making people like him. He's charming! At this point the only one risking ending up alone is Elena. Bonnie and Caroline are slightly pissed at her and she's successfully alienated all the vampires she knows.

Man, this episode was so uneventful, I had absolutely no reaction to Alaric being the serial killer. Also, since it was just announced that Matt Davis will be starring in another CW show, I guess this is the beginning of the end for his character. Sad...

I did, however, enjoy all the Damon/Stefan scenes as well as seeing Cassidy Freeman again. She had it going on in 1912! *obligatory Z-snap*

your recaps rock as always Price, go watch spartacus and review it for us :P

This ep was a bit too slow to be honest, but I guess not every ep can be so epic. I feel that they need a new interesting story line to finish off the season, cuz Alaric as the killer, not really all that interesting. Big deal, just take off the ring!

You know, Elena's only ever worried, fearful or sorrowful, never fun or silly. She's not remotely witty or interesting. She's a pathetic friend (see: Bonnie). So why exactly do the Sal. bros love her? Bunny Blood Stefan is pretty much a brooding soggy lump, so they make sense, I guess. But Damon and Ripper Stefan are snarky, cruel, sarcastic and cynical. They've met thousands of women over 150 years. What would they possibly even like about the queen of ennui? Those guys would be into someone challenging (and who has, um, a personality) like Rebekah or Katherine. Enough already.

Characters are constantly killed off TVD. Let's make it Elena this time (hello there crazy Alaric, how about a little sleep-stabbing in the convenience of your own home). Bring back Katherine who is so much more compelling and appealing and have Stefan try to replace Elena with her - such angst and guilt! Damon can drift back to his "total dick" days, with Rebekah and the Original Bros. assisting (Bek and Klaus just HAVE to become regulars). The big 3 still have their jobs, a deadly dull character is gone, and viewers get fresh story lines. Win-win, producers, who I'm sure will never read this. Sigh.

Usually, I just let the sleeping plot inconsistencies lie, but SRLY? Mini-Gilbert would have needed to be supernaturally murdered TONS for her ring to F her up, right? By whom was she murdered if the Salvatore's were AWOL & "no other vampires were circulating" back then?

Sage was super boring. I wasn't interested in her right from the start, but she turned out to be even less interesting than I thought. Hopefully I'll change my mind when i see more of her in the next couple of eps. Still wish Lexi could've lasted for a few eps and Sage got killed or shipped away after 1 ep though.

Right now I'd prefer Elena to go with Matt to either of the Salvatores. She makes them boring, but she actually makes Matt more interesting (at least because he now gets more screen time for being involved with the one of the lead characters)

Matt's always been pretty sad, but lately he's been soooo sad. In a good way. I still think about their bridge conversation. It would be neat if they dated and Elena got way back into high school life. Going to football games, learning to read, etc. Obviously things would go to heck after that, but it would be a good quiet-before-the-storm type scenario.

1. Good job, Liz! Glad to see Sheriff "This Dunce" grow a spine during the first scene.

2. How great was Damon mocking the whole diary thing?!?

3. Seriously, Elena, what's with the look of horror/revulsion in the alleyway? This is neither the first nor worst "terrible" thing Stephen has done. Why choose that moment to act shocked? Get over it.

Lol I have to say that graph is hilarious, and i would have died laughing if you had put your infamous "sup?" on the crow pic. I was a little shocked Alaric was the killer, but then again hes just becoming this creepy character with no real purpose to me that just needs to be written of the show. And I love the chick that plays sage, she always does well with dark roles but I they didnt really build on her character or make her very appealing like they did Lexi who I loved from the get go.

- I kept forgetting that the serial killer plot was even a thing, tbh. If someone he killed had been part of an interesting/fun/sexy story line involving a key character (see last night's TSC), I might care enough to be shocked that Alaric did it. For me, however, it was just an "Oh, it was him. Moving on." moment.

-Since two of my least fave characters (S. Forbes & Elena) were in this scene, I could not forward fast enough.

-OMFG, Matt, Alaric, Elijah, anyone at all, puhleeze smash that triangle. The whole Delena, Stelena thing is played out now...sooo bored. Let Damon/Rebekkah [<3 her] and Tyler/Klaus/Caroline [double <3 her] take over - with all that chemistry and conflict, fab plot lines that don't involve Destelena abound! And if Stefan isn't going to be a BAMF and rip off more heads...well, I just can't with the anguished looks and furrowed brows anymore. Have done with it and pack Good Guy Stefan and Elena off to bore the friends in Colo. (and let Jeremy come home)!

-The buzz made it seem like Sage and the flashbacks would be really exciting and worth the month-long wait. Um, yeah. Not at all.

Oh, well. I watched TSC next and it chased away the boredom. That casino. LOL.

You raise a good point about the slasher plotline. I wish there had been a higher body count before we learned who did it. Two deaths and one self-stabbing just doesn't seem THAT big a deal for this show.

the best scene of the entire episode was the damon, stefan brotherly moment when damon tells stefan he will always be there 2 pull him bk from the edge cuz right now hes the only 1 hes got.... awwww! tht got me teary eyed!

i was quite shocked abt alaric turning out 2 be the murderer. i hve a feeling he will die in the season finale! noooo! :(

damon was awesome in this episode! reminded me of the season 1 damon. he had the best 1 liners. :D the damon, rebecca n stefan banter was funny!

i liked sage. shes fun n funky! we only got a lil of her in dis ep but ppl they cant cram too much in a 40min episode now can they? i am awaiting her return 2 present day mystic falls.

u know i was all 4 elena dying in the last ep but i now i feel so sorry 4 her. i mean both her biological parents n adoptive parents r dead not 2 mention her aunt too. she is in a love/hate relationship with 2 vampire brothers. an evil hybrid has practically ruined her life n now shes got crazy alaric on her plate not 2 mention a brother who may be on the brink of crazy somewhere in denver. i am surprised elena hasnt gone crazy yet herslef. the poor girl needs a break!

the love triangle seems 2 me 2 be going in an endless circle now but i love TVDs main moto: family above all! :)

plus i like meredith now although her way of tackling with the Alaric prob is a bit off.

Just to throw this out there, I TOTALLY called it about Alaric several weeks ago if you recall.. Let's go ahead and give me a round of applause. Loved the recap as always and LOL'd a bunch of times. It was a great episode and I also loved the looks exchanged between Damon and Rebekah!

- Yes and no.. I mean I felt it coming but I didn't WANT it to be him.

lol do I get a cookie? I was totally speaking Elena's dialouge in my head during that kitchen scene with Matt. The bit about Damon sneaking up on her and she can't seem to shake him. I swear I was saying nearly those exact lines just before she did.

You don't think they're gonna start treating Alaric like they did Shane on TWD do you? That would suck if they made him out to be a freak then axed him.. =( I happen to like Alaric! Speaking of which, they need to rekindle the Alaric/Damon bond lol.

Once again, I LOL'ed all over this recap. The reason they are so funny, is because they are so true!! I think "Do you think Sage zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz" is my favorite part.

Anyway, I was wondering about the decapitation scene, too.. like was that Stefan's first "ripper moment?" I am a little fuzzy, too, on that timeline.

As much as I ship Elena and Damon, it became so obvious that the writers were incapable of moving their storyline beyond the Elena-can't-believe-she-might-have-feelings-for-Damon-so-she-will-just-be-a-B-to-him plot. I am just glad that there is someone new on the scene, even though Matt gives off about as much heat as a bowl of cereal.

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